Runaway Metro Bus Strikes Alexandria Apartment Complex--No one injured

Last night, after a metro bus driver asked his passengers to exit his vehicle momentarily while he attempted to fix a broken door, his problem quickly escalated as his empty vehicle which was sitting atop a hill, began rolling away. The runaway bus picked up speed, jumped the median and against traffic crossed busy lanes, finally ending up in the building. Miraculously, no one was injured. The property is owned by Kay Apartment Communities, a client of Virtual Build. Virtual Build has been using BIM to model Kay Apartment's portfolio of properties and was informed of the event immediately.

In a world where unexpected events are commonplace, it is necessary to insure the things that are most valuable. In this situation, BIM is able to step into the negative situation and provide an essential property insurance tool for Kay Apartments. By retaining the model details of the building and its specifications virtually, the company will not face monetary losses associated with the need to re write plans or building component specifications. Instead, through BIM's virtual management system, it will be able to accurately rebuild the damaged apartments using the saved virtual plans. While the accident was an unfortunate occurrence, Kay's wise decision to plan ahead and ensure that valuable property information was efficiently created and stored, saved the company a great deal of potential monetary loss in the end.

For a relevant link to the 11pm news story covering this event click here: http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0808/546581.html

Dubai based architectural firm Tekla uses BIM for Bejing Olympic Games

The Dubai-based Architectectural firm Tekla announced two days ago that it was involved in the software support for designing the complex structure of the Beijing Olympic Stadium In order to ensure precision and accuracy on the extremely complex "Birds Nest" (the location from which multiple Olympic events including most namely track and field are held) design, Tekla utilized Building Information Modeling. Specifically, the company says it used BIM during the design stage to create 3D views of the stadium's roof joints. Tekla Structures software has been involved in the development of other projects for the new Beijing infrastructure. It was used to model three other buildings – the TV Centre and CCTV buildings and the new International Conference Centre. Worldwide, BIM is reaching new heights, as intricate structures like the focal point of the 2008 Olympic Games require technological software that can support extreme design intricacies and still ensure accuracy and precision of models.

http://www.business24-7.ae/articles/2008/8/pages/08172008_e4040d34a6c74bd7b881d1a15820b97b.aspx

Mangan...President of Virtual Build in MSN Real Estate Feature

http://realestate.msn.com/Buying/Article2.aspx?cp-documentid=8815203

In an August 12th, 2008 Article for MSN Real Estate, President of Virtual Build and Principal and Head architect of sister company Mangan Group Architects continues to build his resume as an industry expert as he shares his insights on split-level housing. The article which features the decline in popularity of split-level housing in the country also include's residential space photography supplied by Mangan Group Architects. The photographs illustrate Mangan Group Architect's keen ability to revitalize the outdated split level style houses and make them much more suitable for the contemporary market.
With over 20 years of experience in the Architecture Industry, Mangan is able to lend his expert opinion on why splits began to appear as early as the 1930s, took off in the post-World War II building boom, and were popular through the 1970s:

"Land values weren't so high then, and so the homes on them weren't very extravagant, says John Mangan of Mangan Group Architects in Takoma Park, Md. Instead, the lots demanded an inexpensive home that made the most of the square footage."

Virtual Build looks to utilize Mangan's years of experience and expertise in the architecture industry to positively shape the future of Virtual Build with a thorough understanding of Building Information Modeling's effect on the real estate industry.

Bridging the Gap between BIM and Facilities Management Software

Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) is an enterprise platform that supports the planning, design, management, utilization and disposal of an organization's location based assets.

The use of the IWMS system will greatly improve the ease of the integration of BIM into companies' existing facilities management software.

IWMS systems assist organizations in optimizing the use of workplace resources, including the management of a company's real estate portfolio, infrastructure and facilities assets. Four of the primary areas of functionality include Lease Administration, Project Management, Space Management and Maintenance Management.

ARCHIBUS, the #1 global provider of real estate, facilities, and infrastructure management solutions and services has been utilizing such a IWMS and has seen tremendous results:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2007_Feb_28/ai_n27304726

BIM's Scope

Nearly every industry imaginable which participates in any building projects benefits through both the enhanced visualization and the collaboration enabling aspects of Building Information Modeling

At Virtual Build, we have identified 5 major industry players who we believe have the highest potential to gain extreme value from utilizing Building Information Modeling.

In no particular order...here are our five:
http://www.virtualbuild.com/bim_industries.html (referenced on our company website as well)

1) DEVELOPERS
BIM allows developers to quickly analyze the risks and benefits of a project more accurately
and much earlier in the development process. This reduces the risk that the developer takes on prior to commencement.

2)LEASING AGENTS
Leasing agents can service more prospective tenants much more quickly using BIM. With its virtual leasing capabilities, BIM allows both tenant and leasing agent to qualify available spaces without having to actually do on-site walk throughs.

3) PROPERTY OWNERS
Building owners benefit from BIM during all phases of the building's life cycle. During design and construction BIM eliminates a great deal of time and waste, and after construction, the BIM works like a visual file cabinet, giving the owner a broad interactive record of the status of the building.

4) PRODUCTION/CUSTOM HOME BUILDERS
Production home builders benefit from BIM by identifying skews in their product and allowing for broader standardization for all new and existing projects.

5) PROPERTY MANAGERS/ FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
Property managers benefit from Building Information Modeling based upon its ability to enhance their facilities management software data, and keep accurate and current records of all available spaces and their conditions.


***In closing... it is imperative to note that BIM derives a great deal of its value from being a collaborative tool. Knowledge is power, but not if it isn't understood or accurate. The "I" (information) is the key in BIM. Information that is standardized to allow all parties on a project to learn and understand essentially the same language, and also accurate to allow for the most efficient communication of the language between all parties involved on a project.***

BIM and construction industry coincide once again as REED construction data BIM objects now available on Autodesk

http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/press-releases/press-release/reed-construction-datas-bim-objects-now-available-on-autodesk-seek-web-serv/


Virtual Build was thrilled to learn just how many aggressive moves Autodesk has made recently to continually position themselves as THE major player in the BIM software market. This arrangement with Reed Data is just the tip of the iceburg for Autodesk to position themselves as the major conduit of manufacturer initiated BIM's.

Standarization. It is BIM's key value added service, and this new marriage between Autodesk and Reed Data will move the industry even further towards a perfect world. A world where there is complete information model standarization, a world where every player is given perfect information, and a world where there is one hundred percent accuracy in project collaborations and during on-site constructions. The recognizable deficiencies in BIM's ability to be a fully collaborative tool are being remedied rapidly, and advancements such as these allow for the most accurate integration possible between building object manufacturers, and architects/engineers/designers in the BIM process.

Sample Lennar house timeliner video completed in BIM